Flashbulb memories of personal events of 9/11 and the day after for a sample of New York City residents

The present study assessed consistency of recollections of personal circumstances of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack and events of the day before (9/10), and the day after (9/12), in a sample of 100 New York City college students. The day before 9/11 represented an ordinary event. A questionnaire was administered twice, 1 wk. and 1 yr. after the 9/11 attack. Students were asked to describe their personal circumstances when hearing about the news of the World Trade Center attack and for the same time of day for 9/10 and 9/12. 18 students returned the follow-up questionnaire. Consistency of initial and follow-up responses for the central categories for both 9/11 and 9/12 of where, who, and activity was very high (9/11: "Where"--100%, "Who"--100%, "What"--94%; 9/12: "Where"--100%, "Who"--100%, "What"--80%). Recollections of 9/10 were significantly less consistent ("Where"--79%, "Who"--71%, "What"--71%). Analysis indicated that students formed vivid, consistent recollections during the events of both 9/11 and 9/12. It is likely that the events of 9/12 also became flashbulb memories, vivid recollections of traumatic events, because the emotional impact of the stressful events, i.e., police and military presence, disrupted schedules, relating to the 9/11 attack endured beyond the day of the attack.     

The relationship between dominance rank and spatial ability among male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

Males of many mammalian species exhibit contest competition and scramble competition for mates, but the relationship between these 2 forms of competition remains poorly understood. The authors measured dominance rank and spatial ability as traits likely to be selected by contest and scramble competition, respectively, among male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus). The spatial ability of males was assessed using water maze tests, and dominance rank was determined using paired trials in a neutral arena. Dominant males had better spatial-learning ability and tended to have quicker learning speed but did not have better spatial memory than less aggressive subordinates. Therefore, the authors found no evidence that contest and scramble competition have favored alternative reproductive phenotypes among male meadow voles.     

Developing Sustainability: A New Metaphor for Progress

In this paper, we propose a new model for development, one that transcends the North–South dichotomy and goes beyond a narrow conception of development as an economic process. This model requires a paradigm shift toward a new metaphor that develops sustainability, rather than sustains development. We conclude by defending a ‘report card on development’ as a means for evaluating how countries perform within this new paradigm.     

Barriers to Mental Health Care: A 25‐Year Follow‐Up Study of the Orthodox Jewish Community

The current study is a 25‐year follow‐up to a mental health needs assessment in the often overlooked, but rapidly growing, Orthodox Jewish denomination. Results suggest increased acceptance of mental illness and its treatment and satisfaction with quality of care, along with decreased mistrust of the mental health field, belief that religion and psychiatry conflict, and tendency to attach stigmas to psychiatric problems. However, issues of stigma and affordability continue to be obstacles to treatment. El presente estudio es un seguimiento tras 25 años de una evaluación de necesidades de salud mental en la población frecuentemente ignorada, pero en crecimiento rápido, de individuos de denominación judía ortodoxa. Los resultados sugieren una mayor aceptación de enfermedades mentales y sus tratamientos, así como la satisfacción con la calidad de los cuidados, además de una reducción en la desconfianza hacia el campo de la salud mental, la creencia de que existe un conflicto entre religión y psiquiatría, y la tendencia a estigmatizar los problemas psiquiátricos. Sin embargo, problemas relacionados con la asequibilidad y el estigma continúan siendo obstáculos para el tratamiento.     

Precues’ elevation of sensitivity is not only preattentive,but largely monocular

Visual sensitivity can be heightened in the vicinity of an appropriate precue. Experiments with multiple, noninformative precues suggest that this facilitation should not be attributed to focal attention. The number of simultaneously appearing precues seems to be irrelevant; contrast thresholds are lowest for targets that appear in a precued position. Here we report that precues become less effective when they and the target are delivered to different eyes. We conclude that the mechanism responsible for such heightened sensitivity has largely monocular input.     

The Urge to Splurge Revisited: Further Reflections on Applying Terror Management Theory to Materialism and Consumer Behavior

We respond to commentaries by Maheswaran and Agrawal (2004) and Rindfleisch and Burroughs (2004) on the application of terror management theory to understanding conspicuous consumption and consumer behavior. Specifically, we consider individual differences in terror management research; the possibility of cultural variation (or lack thereof) in terror management processes; the viability of materialism as a pathway to securing existential meaning; and the different and, at times possibly conflicting, motivations that may be evoked by the awareness of death.